This invention relates to a jig for assembling table tops such as picnic table tops.
Apparatus or jigs for aligning and holding in place construction elements during assembly operations are known in the art. Such devices have been developed for fabrication of wall frames for buildings (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,617, Schneider, issued Aug. 1, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,920, Koenigshof, issued Jan. 24, 1967, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,322,368, Lacey, issued June 22, 1943), and for construction of cabinets (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,986, Johnson, issued May 30, 1972; Canadian Pat. No. 223,997, Krueger, issued Sept. 26, 1922). Canadian Pat. No. 1,043,548, Lacasse, issued Dec. 5, 1978, describes and illustrates apparatus for manufacturing curved seats.
None of these previously described devices suggests a solution to the problem of mechanically aligning the transverse and elongated rectangular top members which, when secured, will form a table top such as, for example, a picnic table top, and retaining them in position for assembly with appropriate securing means.
Heretofore, the transverse and elongated rectangular top members of such a table construction have usually been secured together as a strictly manual operation to form the table top, this operation being carried out either at a table manufacturing plant or at the site where such a table is to be used. In this latter case, the elements making up the table are packaged in separated form at the factory and sold, as a kit, to the customer who then assembles the table at his home or on site. Such manual assembly of the entire table is a time consuming operation. In addition, the final, assembled product is often irregular in shape because of uneven alignment of the ends of the top members of the table, irregular spacing between such top members or irregular placing of the securing screws or nails in the top members by the customer.